its milk, this might actually be goat’s time. Bill
Niman, founder of Niman Ranch, Alameda,
Calif., a network of farmers who produce
humanely raised pork, beef and lamb, now
works the land at BN Ranch, his property
in Bolinas, north of San Francisco. He is
raising goats, and sells a limited supply under
the BN Ranch label. But using the model
that worked so well for his first undertaking,
Niman is putting together a consortium of
goat producers who will raise and process the
animals according to specific standards.

ON THE MENU

As more chefs are serving goat, they are
finding receptive customers. Chef/owner Dan
Barber of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico
Hills, N. Y., raises goats on his family farm
in Great Barrington, Mass. “Last summer,
they were incredible,” he says, “munching
away at the encroaching forest and literally
transforming one entire field back into pasture.

“They were delicious, too. We served them
at between 25 and 35 pounds, with all their
parts. I love them when they get older, but I
don’t know that our customers would. Not
yet, anyway.”
At New York’s Kin Shop (so named because
“kin” is Thai for “to eat”), Massaman Curry
Braised Goat not only highlights the menu
but also was named 2011 Best Goat Dish by
New York magazine. Chef/co-owner Harold
Dieterle is a Culinary Institute of America
(Hyde Park, N. Y.) graduate who competed
and won the first season of Bravo’s “Top
Chef.” Shortly afterward, he opened his first
restaurant, Perilla, in New York.